The Crystal Empire.
For a long time, it was kept away from the rest of Equestria, hidden within the mountains and caught in the middle of a never-ending winter. Nobody could get in or out, and the Crystal Ponies lived in fear of King Sombra for a large part of their lives.
It was a cruel and dark time for the Empire, one that went on for centuries.
But this age was different. It was springtime at long last. The sun, no longer hidden by the ceaseless winter storm, shined its light onto the crystals. The crystals reflected the sunlight in a million directions, creating a wonderful spectacle.
It had a prince and princess again, two who would ensure the Empire would return to its former glory, if it wasn't there already. There was no reason to assume they would fail, when they managed to thwart an invasion of Canterlot almost entirely by themselves. They had the skills and heart they needed for the job.
Yet, the sins of the previous regime remained in place, regardless of what the ponies chose to remember. Or could remember.
Off in the distance, in the vast meadow outside the Empire, Celestia was sitting in her flying chariot, manned by two Royal Guard pegasi. They came from the town of Canterlot in the early morning, with a pressing matter she wanted to settle before everything changed later that day.
They slowly descended to the ground below, empty save for vast spaces of grass and the occasional true. The pegasi brought their hooves to the surface and rested the wheels of the chariot on solid ground.
"Is this the place, Your Majesty?" the white Guard asked.
"Yes, it is. You may dismount for now," she said, with a soft tone that still commanded much respect from her subjects. Such was the way of Celestia.
The stallions pulled the reigns off their backs, placing them on the grass. The black furred Guard went over to the side of the carriage and opened the door for Celestia.
Celestia came out and gazed at the meadow around her. It had been years, maybe even centuries, since she had last been here and free of the sting of failure, the failure to protect her very own subjects...
But those days were gone. She knew it when she could feel the sun shine on her face here.
She walked in a specific direction, searching around for something in particular. The guards left the chariot behind and followed her in the meadow.
The Empire was off in the distance, right in the middle of peacetime. One could see the ponies in the streets from here, minding the return to normalcy.
However, Celestia came here for a specific purpose. She scouted the valleys and hills, seeing whatever she could find.
"Have mercy on me for asking such a question, but why are we here?" asked the white Guard. "I don't see anything here, and we should be leaving soon. Twilight will be waiting for you."
"I know, and we'll have the time to make it," Celestia responded. "But there's a matter I need to settle before we leave."
She kept trotting through the hills, still searching for what she came for. The Guards stopped in their tracks, not knowing where she was going.
And then, she found it. There was no mistaking what it was; nothing like that could escape her memory when it meant what it did.
The princess approached it at the bottom of the valley, bringing her snout to it.
It was a horn from long ago, belonging to a unicorn. But it was not like any other unicorn, with its jagged edges and orange color.
She recognized it as the horn of King Sombra, the one responsible for all of the Crystal Empire's troubles. He had nearly destroyed the Empire and Celestia's former student with it the last time he was alive, and very few could have compared to his might had Twilight lost the battle.
The Guards were far off, eating the grass while they waited for her to return. Nopony would hear what she had to say, and that was what she needed for such a moment.
"Hello, Sombra. It has been a long time since we last met."
The horn did nothing, almost disappointing her.
"The last time I saw your face, you were trying to keep the title of King of Shadows to yourself. And threatening my rule, along with Luna's..."
Her throat choked up while she talked, while painful memories came back to the surface.
"But it does not matter anymore. You have been defeated for months now, and the Empire has been restored. Yet, I feel the need to talk to you, before my life and many others will change forever.
"I have faced many enemies in my lifetime. I had to seal away the embodiment of chaos himself. I was forced to banish my dear sister for a thousand years. Were you aware of that? Did you even know what was going on in my life, when you hid your empire from my hooves?"
The horn did not respond to her words. She sighed and knew he was listening to her, somehow. He was that kind of pony.
"And there was a difference between them and you. I always knew Luna could be reformed back to her former state. She needed time to realize how much she meant to me, but she came back to the family and the throne.
"Even Discord was willing to change his ways for good. He saw the value of friendship, of having somepony to look out for him. And he was one of the worst foes of my history. It wasn't enough to banish him, but he needed to be cast into stone.
"Do you know what the difference is, between them and you?"
She was silent for some time, letting it sink in.
"They were willing to change their ways, and you never even considered it. At least I know Chrysalis can't be any different, she needs to feed on love to survive. But you kept doing what you did because you enjoyed it. And that's why I hope to never face an enemy like you again. Equestria would be ruined forever if you ever served as its king."
The Guards ran to her out of left field, panicked and worried.
"Princess Celestia, we only have two hours left. And it's a long way to Canterlot from here."
Celestia nodded. "Let's go. I have no further business here."
She rose to her hooves and walked away, leaving the horn of Sombra behind. The Guards ran to the carriage and moved the reins on their backs again.
The princess was in no hurry and glanced behind her shoulder, while she returned to her chariot. The horn remained in place, though she found herself almost wishing it would react in some fashion.
But she did not think about it too much. In her mind, Sombra was gone for good. And that made her heart a little lighter.
She returned to the carriage's seat and motioned for the Guards to take off. They flapped their wings and brought the chariot off the ground. The meadow was left behind in their wake as they took off into the sky.
The horn kept her attention while they made their way to Canterlot. It was merely a speck in her vision in no time at all, but she could still see its orange glow...
All of it was nonsense to her, all the fears she had about Sombra when she woke up that morning, feeling like that chapter of her life wasn't over just yet...
It wasn't long until she could make out her own castle in the depths of Canterlot. A crowd would soon fill up the courtyard, and for good reason. For today, a new princess would be crowned within Celestia's halls. Everypony would want to see such a landmark occasion, for they did not happen often.
And she had taken care of the one thing that was on her mind for months. At least, that's what she thought had happened.
----------
The birds whistled in the trees nearby. Butterflies were flying about, resting on any flowers they could find. Everything was basked in sunlight, where the plants would gain the energy they needed to bloom. A few squirrels were scurried about, looking for acorns.
The Empire was looking over the meadow almost like a guardian in its statue.
It was not supposed to be like this.
The horn glowed hot in its orange color, beaming with a new sense of life.
These animals, they should be hiding from the winter. MY winter. Who authorized this?
It was shaking with a force beyond its own, and a voice cried out from within.
One squirrel saw the horn moving violently and touched it, believing it was a strange acorn. But the horn cried out again with a deep and unnerving voice. The squirrel dropped the horn and ran as fast as it could.
So, Celestia so foolishly believes I would not return. You want to know the difference between me and your previous enemies? They were weak and easier to conform to your idea of good. You're scared of me. I could see it in the way you spoke. You waited until I was "dead" to even consider coming to my presence.
Shadowy mist emerged all around the valley in the blink of an eye. The meadow's creatures ran away from it, knowing this was unnatural.
One by one, the forms of mist were adsorbed into the horn. Within time, a blob of dark magic formed around it, taking a new shape.
It created the outline of a stallion, towering in height over most ponies. The horn was put where the stallion's forehead would soon form.
He cried out in agony as he finally felt the effects of the explosion that marked his defeat. But he was stronger than this, and pushed through the pain.
More and more of him came back to form. His back was restored, along with his hooves. His mane, blacker than night itself. Purple trails of mist emerged from his eyes, like they were always there. He had fangs for teeth, prepared to use them to devour his enemies.
His outfit was the next thing to come back. The crown of shadows returned to rest on his head, and steel armor formed around his face, hooves, and neck.
The red cape, one that would benefit a true king, emerged out of hiding at long last. It covered his entire back and cutie mark.
With everything back to normal, he opened his eyes to see his new surroundings. He could hear but not see when he was limited to being a horn, making his experience much like Discord's time as a statue.
What he saw enraged him to his very core.
The place he had cursed with eternal winter, the meadow of Sombra's former Empire, was thawed out and full of sunlight. He could see everything as far as his vision would allow, and he could not stand to see the meadow as alive as it was.
He had gone out of his way to curse it, and now this is what greeted him?
But that was nothing compared to what he saw for himself when he turned around
There it was. The Crystal Empire, HIS empire. But it was not like he had wanted it to be. Not only was the Crystal Heart restored to its rightful position, he could see the ponies inside...and they were frolicking, enjoying themselves, doing everything that would tick him off.
That purple unicorn and her dragon had defeated him after all. The unicorn's name was Twilight Sparkle, and despite not having the scope of power the princess did, that mare had managed to do what Celestia could only dream of.
It enraged him to his very core. How could anypony defeat the King of Shadows?
He stomped his hoof on the ground and roared at the top of his lungs.
King Sombra had returned. And he wanted to make sure everypony knew this fact.
But first, he had to take care of one important detail. He could gather from the Guards' chit chat that an important event was occurring in Canterlot shortly. And he remembered where the ancient city was from his colthood.
It was time to do something about this challenge to his rule. And Celestia would come to regret everything she had done to him, through her direct actions and through her student.
He transformed from his physical form to a small streak of shadowy mist. The mist moved away from the meadow and took off for Canterlot in the air.
There was no reason for him to delay. There were more important things to take care of before he reclaimed his throne, starting with the very source of his problems....
After some time in Equestria's skies, roughly an hour and a half, he found the castle of Canterlot. It was different from the last time he had seen it, but it matched the previous castle's sense of majesty and glamor, if it didn't surpass it.
He could hear the ponies inside the town, bustling with anticipation over the big day. Therefore, he made his mist form small and hard to notice, so that he would not be seen and possibly even captured if he wasn't careful.
The king hovered above the streets and discovered that very few ponies were here at all. Those he did catch were running straight to the castle, acting as if they were going to miss something huge if they waited anymore.
And so he approached the castle to see this event himself, hazily drifting through the rooftops. When he saw the castle up close and personal, he knew this was building up to something.
Many Guards were standing watch at the balconies and courtyard, making sure the crowd would be civil. Speaking of a crowd, there were a huge number of ponies, in the thousands or even ten thousands in number, gathering altogether in the courtyard. The only times he saw a bigger audience for something were in the middle of war.
He noticed that they were all watching a balcony high above their heads. Something was transpiring here, and he had to see it before he could plan out his next move.
What WAS going on here? Did Celestia talk to him in that meadow because she was going to step down? At least there wouldn't be too big of a fuss if she died after that. A former princess found dead wouldn't create half the fuss of finding one still on the throne...
Then again, there could be a wedding happening around here. They didn't happen that often, royal weddings and all, but when they were huge events when they happened every now and then.
And then, he saw somepony walk out to the balcony. As soon as she came out for the crowd to see, they exploded in applause from the sight.
Sombra couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was just so unusual that it took a few minutes to sink into his head.
There she was. Twilight Sparkle. One of the few ponies responsible for his defeat, standing out for Equestria to see her. Not as a unicorn, but as the newest princess of the land. Her crown said that to anyone who would see it.
And even more impressive, she had wings to sport.
Sombra was aghast at it. Not only was his newest foe the newest Princess of Equestria, but she was an alicorn now? Alicorns were stronger fliers than pegasi, and their grasp of magic surpassed that of any unicorn, even Starswirl the Bearded. Twilight was already quite gifted in her grasp of magic, and now she would be even more powerful.
If he was in his physical form, his jaw would have dropped to the floor.
There was no use in him fighting; he knew that when Celestia and Luna joined her in that balcony, in silly little outfits to demonstrate that they were all leaders of Equestria now.
And so he drifted away from Canterlot to get away from it all. Where he was going, he did not know. He just needed some time to think about everything, and to dwell on the path of victory he would have to take now.
The ponies celebrated the ascension of Twilight Sparkle throughout the day, all while Sombra wisked himself away into the plains of Equestria, finding some place to call his own.
----------
How long he had been wandering around the vast plains and forests of Celestia's kingdom, he did not know for sure. it didn't matter. His empire was gone, taken from a princess apparently named Cadence. Celestia was as strong as ever, and her new ally Twilight Sparkle would grow to match her might in a short time.
Miles of land washed over his face while he tried to find a place to rest his head. It might take him all day to find a place for this, but he would find it sooner or later.
After a whole week of wandering around aimlessly, he found the location he was looking for..
It was in the northern parts of Equestria, where very few ponies lived. The air was bitterly cold and snow covered the area in white sheets. In between frequent mountains, there were low valleys tomark the places around them.
He had heard legends of dragons dwelling around these mountains, but he knew from experience that it was a lie. Dragons thrived in warm areas, not where winter lasted for 365 days of the year.
Nopony would dare to live in such a hostile environment. Although Sombra wasn't affected by it, the temperature would have caused frostbite to any normal pony within an hour. And those that didn't would need plenty of protection to survive.
It was just right for him.
There was one valley that stood out to him. It was flat and big in scope, surrounded on every side by a mountain. It could serve many purposes to him, but there was only one he wanted to do.
It had been a while since he created anything through his magic. There was no need for it when he had an Empire to himself. But it was out of his reach now, and he had to call upon the creation spell for the first time in who knows how long. In the week he roamed around Equestria, he had just gained enough strength to pull off something like this again.
He only hoped it worked as well as it used to.
And surely enough, it did.
----------
When he was finished with his work, the valley was a completely different place. In fact, if one stopped by in the time before he arrived, and came back after he was finished, they would not recognize it as the same land.
Sombra erected a massive castle for him to reside in, one that rivaled Celestia's in sheer size. It was as black as his mane, some spots made red to stand out better. Flags of his face flapped with the winter winds, and many crystals were embedded into the stone itself.
The main feature of the castle was a hoard of towers, spiraling to the sky as if they were trying to grab something there. The castle was so huge that it would take a long time to circle around it.
And it felt like home to Sombra already. It was where he could come in to clear his thoughts, and to decide his tactics with all the time in the world. And most importantly, it was his and his alone. Any worthwhile king had a castle to his credit. And Sombra was certainly proud of his creation.
But it was not for him to reside alone. He needed a unit of guards to look after the castle, when somepony eventually stumbled upon the castle. It was bound to happen sooner or later, and he would need to prepare for the future to stand a chance.
And so he turned away from his home and arrived at the bare ground next to it. His horn beamed with energy and crackled with electricity. It grew more intense with time, until he released the spell into the area. It shot lightning strikes in several spots around him.
He took a few breaths after he was finished. The spell required much strength to cast properly. But he knew it was working when he witnessed many hooves digging their way out of the ground.
Whoever they were, they were struggling to get out of there, smashing their way out towards freedom. The hooves were pitch black and clad in armor like those of the Royal Guards.
Sombra watched as he saw his own legion of Guards emerged out to existence, pegasi and unicorn alike. Their manes were grey as well, an introversion of his color scheme. They were ready to go to war when they emerged, but they stopped when they saw the King of Shadows in their presence.They bowed to King Sombra in unison, showing him the honor HE deserved.
"Welcome, my guards," he said, with a voice that would send shivers down anypony's spine. "It has been some time since I've had guards I can call my own, but I do not intend to lose them again."
They rose up to their hooves and awaited their first command. There was no soul in any one of them, as they were not truly alive. They existed only to serve him.
"Now then, you shall go into the halls of my castle and keep your eyes on every nook and cranny of it. If there is an intruder present, you capture them for me to handle. If there is an army on our doorstep, you will kill every last one of them. You are members of my own army, and you will not allow anypony to take over King Sombra's castle!"
The guards bowed again to him. "It will be done, King Sombra," they said with a singular voice.
"Good. Now let us move in to our new home."
----------
By the early evening hours, it was truly Sombra's castle. The halls were dark, menacing, and full of crystals of his creation. Banners of his likeness were everywhere. And the guards were so large in number, there would be one to see you no matter where you were.
The throne room was no different. The hall went on for a long while, with a red carpet leading up to it. The throne itself was like any other throne, majestic and awe inspiring, with a plush red pillow for the seat.
That was where Sombra rested his flank, looking to the rest of his castle. He was very satisfied with his efforts, and he turned to one of the two guards presiding over the room.
"Have they made a full sweep of the premises?" he inquired.
"Yes, my king," the guard replied. "It's all clear in every area."
"Good, stay alert out there. Many powerful ponies would seek to kill me."
And deep down, he knew that was true. Judging by that little heartfelt speech Celestia gave him a week ago, she would seek to finish him the moment she found out about his resurrection.
And why not? She had every reason to fear him. He had learned from his mistakes, after all, and he had an army to back his efforts now.
But then again, he had to do things differently than last time.
"Guards, I require some time alone for thinking."
The guards bowed again, and departed from the throne room out the side rooms. There was nobody there except the King of Shadows himself.
Even though he would have an army in no time, a flat out assault would not work like it did before.
After all, he had done just that when he went out and tried to keep the Crystal Empire for himself a few months ago. He lost by the slightest margin of victory possible, and things were more dire than ever before for him, despite his new resources.
Why? The Crystal Empire was restored, and Cadence would put up a better fight than she did before. And not only did Celestia stand as defiant as ever to his ambitions, but now Twilight Sparkle was an alicorn, stronger than ever--
Wait a minute.
Twilight Sparkle.
She was the one who played the biggest role in his defeat. Yes, the dragon by the name of Spike was arguably the one who defeated him by his own hands, and that's why he had his own glass window now. But would he have gotten so far without the help of that little filly?
On top of that, he gathered how important this pony really was. If Celestia was comfortable transforming that mare into an alicorn and a princess, that spoke wonders about her ability.
He grinned to himself at the new revelation. Twilight Sparkle was the key to taking over Equestria this time.
But deep down, he knew Twilight would never go down without a fight. She would likely do some serious damage to him before he killed her, and a fight involving Twilight would gather much attention. If Celestia heard about such news, she would hunt him down until he really was dead for good.
Then what?
He paused. An attack on a valuable ally would be disastrous...
But then again...what if he did something else entirely concerning her?
Even then, he knew how evil this plan would look like to an outside. How could it not? But the more he thought about it, the more it looked like a brilliant plan. It would take a lot of time to prepare and execute, but if he pulled it off right, the edge in the war for the kingdoms would be on his side forever.
He laughed to himself, and began to make his mental preparations.
When he made the castle, he also had his own library full of books he stored up within his magic. It was possible to do so if you knew the right spell, and of course he knew all about it.
And there was one book in particular he was going to need for such a task.
When he went to the library and flipped through those pages, he laughed even harder at the thought. This was going to be easier than he imagined, and he had some lofty ambitions.
The title of the book was About the Arts of Dark Magic, by Starswirl the Bearded.